


Utopia

by l-ouresdeLuna (facemyJam)



Series: Rose Stays [9]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Episode: s03e11 Utopia, Multi, Post-Episode AU: s02e13 Doomsday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:40:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26185069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/facemyJam/pseuds/l-ouresdeLuna
Summary: They thought it would just be a quick pit stop and then they'd be on their way to a spa where Martha could relax and Rose could have a good cry, but boy are they wrong. Suddenly there's an Ex-Time Agents who flirt, a bouncy Professor who's very short, and an insectoid creature who's very giggly. Why can't one trip ever go right, Martha asks herself after every spin in the TARDIS.Part Eight in the Rose Stays Series
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Rose Stays [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/758286
Comments: 39
Kudos: 63





	1. Blogging At the End of the World

**Author's Note:**

> I have finally finished this episode! I have been working on this one for quite a while (Like, way before I posed the family of blood one, so that should tell you something about why i have hit my head against the wall so many times). To me, Rose is a little Doctorish in this one, but I think you'll infer why after I post the second chapter. Hope you like it!

“Oh, I wanted to do this after we got stuck in 1913, but I guess doing it after getting stuck in 1969 is kinda the same thing,” Rose says as she lands the TARDIS somewhere.

“And what is ‘this’ exactly?” Martha asks, still reeling a bit from their last adventure, despite it being a week later. Meeting the Doctor who didn’t remember Rose was something she was still trying to wrap her head around.

“Cardiff,” Rose replies, typing something into the keyboard attached to the console. She seemed a bit lighter after meeting the past Doctor, but Martha wasn’t sure how much of it was an act.

“Cardiff?” Hang on, she remembers something a while ago- something to do with Cardiff.

“Yep,” she says with a smile, popping the ‘p’. “There’s a rift here that the TARDIS soaks up energy from, sorta like one of those sun panels with solar energy.”

“So, it’s a pit stop?”

“Exactly,” Rose says with a smile before frowning and looking at the computer screen. “That’s odd, though. It should take us a couple of hours to fill Her up, but it seems the rift has been active lately.”

“Wait a minute,” Martha says as the memory returns to her. “They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago. Was that you?”

“Huh? Oh, well, we had a bit of trouble with Margaret the Slitheen. Although she’d be called something else now.”

“What do you mean? What’s a Slitheen?”

“Not a what, a who. Slitheen is-  _ was _ a family from the planet, Raxacoricofallapatorius , but we regressed her and gave her to another family.”

“I’m sorry, you  _ what _ ?” Okay, so looks like this new and open Rose could be really confusing when she wanted to be.

Before Rose could answer her, though, the whole room shook and a loud boom came from the console.

“Whoa, what was that!?” Martha asks as she grabs the nearest coral strut. Was there ever going to be a smooth ride in this thing?

“I don’t know but we’re travelling!” Rose says as she struggles to hold on to the console. “The year one billion, five billion, five trillion. Fifty trillion?  _ What? _ The year one hundred trillion? I thought that was impossible!”

“Why? What happens then?” Martha asks as they literally bounce through the Time Vortex.

“I don’t know, but it seems we’re going to the end of the Universe.”

\--

A tattooed tribe with pointed teeth sniff the night air as one. One of them bares its teeth in a feral grin.

“Humans. Humans are coming.”

\--

A man with different clothes and no tattoos is running along a cavern when a tribal woman leaps out in front of him making him almost fall in his panic.

“I don't- I just want to go.  _ Please _ , let me go!” He shouts.

“Human!” The woman shouts up the rockface, where a sentry is posted. The man slowly backs up as the sentry repeats the woman’s shout. 

“Human!” The sentry shouts again and the man runs for his life as he hears the distant chant of  _ “Hunt! Hunt! Hunt! Hunt!” _

\--

An old computer displays a radar. A blip alerts the man sitting next to it and he looks to see movement.

“There’s movement on the surface,” He says with a resigned sigh. “Another human hunt. God help him.”

“Chan should I alert the guards tho?” A blue insectoid alien asks with concern, her face pincers moving, showing her anxiousness.

“No, no, we can’t spare them. Poor beggar’s on his own. One more lost soul dreaming of Utopia,” The man says with a pained look on his face.

“Chan you mustn’t talk as if you’ve given up tho.”   
  
“No, no, indeed. Here’s to it,” he says holding up a mug. “Utopia.” He takes a sip, mouth tightening in disgust. “Where it is hoped the coffee is a little less sour. Will you join me?”

“Chan I am happy drinking my own internal milk tho,” She says with a slight blush.

“Yes, well, that’s quite enough information, thank you,” the man says, putting down his mug and going back to the paper’s in front of him.

_ “Professor Yana?” _ A voice calls over a loudspeaker.  _ “I don’t want to rush you, but how are we doing?” _

“Er, yes, er, er, yes. Working. Yes, almost there!” The professor claims biting his lip as he looks over the chaos of the machine behind him.

_ “How’s it looking on the footprint?” _

“It’s good,” Yana says, wiping sweat from his brow. “Yes, fine, excellent.”

“Chan there’s no problem as such. We’ve accelerated the calculation matrix, but it’s going to take time to harmonise tho. Chan we’re trying a new reversal process. We’ll have definite results in approximately two hours tho,” Chantho says looking worriedly at Professor Yana, whose face has gone pale as he stares off into the distance. “Chan professor tho?”

“Yes!” Professor Yana shouts as he comes back to himself. “Yes, yes, yes. Working.”

“Chan it’s the surface scanner, Professor. It seems to be detecting a different signal tho,” Chantho tells him pointing at the old radar computer.

“Well, that’s not a standard reading. I can’t make it out,” the Professor says with a frown as he gets closer to the screen. Instead of the usual circular blip, the radar displays a square blip not too far off from the silo. “It would seem something new has arrived.”

\--

“Well, we’ve landed,” Rose says with a slight groan, stretching her arms with a slight wince.

“You’re telling me,” Martha grumbles as she stands back up from the grating. “So, what’s out there?”

“I dunno,” Rose says with a shrug, the computer screen blank.

“You’ve never been here before?”

“No,” Rose says as she tries to wake the computer by tapping harshly on the keyboard keys. “I don’t even think the Doctor has travelled this far.” She gives up on the computer and looks towards the TARDIS doors. “We should leave. We should go. We should really, really go.” She looks over at Martha, matching grins spreading across their faces as they race towards the doors. It was a bit like with the Weeping Angels, but Martha was all set for another adventure after sitting in the Vortex while Rose ran diagnostics on the TARDIS.

They look around to see it’s night time in what looks like a rock quarry, before Martha spots someone lying on the ground by the TARDIS.

“Oh, my god!” She kneels down to see to him but frowns as she grabs his wrist. “Can’t get a pulse. Hold on! I’ve got that medical kit thing you gave me.” She stands and walks back into the TARDIS.

But Rose is frozen where she’s stood, shocked as she looks down at the dead body of her old friend Jack. Jack, who isn’t really dead- not really- but knowing that he can’t die and seeing his dead body are two completely different things.

“Still looks the same,” she whispers out as she takes in his face. Maybe an age line added here or there, but otherwise, he was the same- same handsome face, same billowing coat. But he’d never be the same again. And he’d never look at her the same again.

“Here we go,” Martha says as she reappears struggling to get the medical bag open. “Get out of the way.” She leans down and re-checks his pulse, taking a good look at him for the first time. “It’s a bit odd, though. Not very hundred trillion. That coat’s more like World War Two.”

“I think he came with us,” Rose says, voice quite, sniffling as she comes to kneel at his other side.

“How do you mean, from  _ Earth _ ?”

“Yeah,” Rose says voice cracking as she takes his hand. It was cold and limp, but she clung to it like a lifeline, urging him to come back. “He must’ve been holding on to the TARDIS as we travelled here. Tha’s very him.” She gives a weak chuckle as she smooths his hair from his forehead.

“You- You  _ know _ him?”

“Yeah, he used to travel with us, back in the old days.”

“But he’s- I’m sorry, there’s no heartbeat. There’s nothing. He’s dead,” Martha says reaching over to comfort Rose, but just then the man wakes up with a gasp and grabs her arm. “Oh, so much for me. It’s all right,” Martha says as she focuses back on the man. “Just breathe deep. I’ve got you.”

“Captain Jack Harkness,” Jack introduces himself with that winning smile of his. “And who are you?”

“Martha Jones,” Martha says as she checks his pulse again.

“Nice to meet you, Martha Jones,” Jack says and Rose couldn’t help the watery laugh that escaped her. Same flirtatious attitude. When he turns to look at her, though, his face pales and Rose flinches. She forgot for a second that he hated her. “Rosie?” He asks, hands coming up to cup her cheeks. “You’re alive? But- the Battle of Canary Wharf- it- Your name was on the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler.”

“No, I- I survived. Just me,” Rose said looking down as fresh tears reappeared, but before she could wipe them away, she was engulfed in Jack’s arms. He squeezed her tight and she couldn’t help but to reciprocate.

“Oh, Rosie, I’m so glad you’re alive,” Jack said kissing the top of her head.

“Missed you, too, Jack,” Rose said with a sniffle. They pulled back and she gave him her famous tongue touched smile which he returned with a grin of his own before he frowned.

“Hold on, you abandoned me,” he said getting up. Rose stood as well, wiping the tears that wouldn’t stop spilling from her eyes.

“Didn’t mean to, the Doctor- he just- he told me you wanted to stay behind.” Rose wasn’t going to bring up the whole never dying thing if Jack wasn’t going to.

Jack got a sad look on his face before replacing it with a saucy grin. “Guess he just wanted you all for himself,” he teased. “Speaking of, where is he?” Jack looked behind her to see if the Doctor was going to come out of the TARDIS.

“He’s- he’s gone,” Rose tells him. “That battle, with the Cybermen and the Daleks, he fell and- Mum, Mickey, an’ him are stuck in a parallel world.”

“But how are you here then, with the TARDIS and everything, if the Doctor’s not here?”

“I dunno,” Rose says with a shrug. “I learned how to fly Her and I just started travelling by accident ‘s all.”

“Rosie,” Jack says sadly. He drags her into another hug and she can’t help but to melt into it.

“I missed you, Jack,” she whispers to him. She feels him nodding into the crook of her neck.

They part after a minute and start to explore, hand in hand like the old days, though Rose couldn’t help but feel as if another hand were missing, either a rough calloused one or one more bony and hairy.

“So, Captain,” Martha says as they start walking away from the TARDIS. “How’d you wind up here?” Martha was rather curious about their past, and something was nagging her in the back of her mind about this Jack fellow, as if she heard about him before.

“Well, it’s a long story,” Jack says before showing her a flirty grin. “But it  _ is _ a pretty good story.”

“Well, come on then,” Martha says, a blush appearing on her cheeks, she walks closer to Jack and Rose smiles at how fast Martha got under Jack’s famous charms.

“So, there I was, stranded in the year two hundred one hundred, ankle deep in Dalek dust, and they went off without me. But I had this,” Jack says showing her the vortex manipulator on his wrist. “I used to be a Time Agent. It’s called a vortex manipulator. The Doc and Rosie aren’t the only ones who can time travel.” Jack sends Rose a smile which has Rose snorting.

“We were Time Agents, too!” Martha tells him excitedly. “Although, I’ve gotta say, travelling by Weeping Angel is sometimes better than the TARDIS.”

“Oi!” Rose says, feeling offended.

“Well! I mean, did you even have driving lessons for that thing?”

“No! But neither did the Doctor!” Rose defends, arms crossing. “Besides, I think I’m doing just fine for a beginner.”

“Hang on, you were a Time Agent Rosie?” Jack asks, looking between them two.

“For a day or two,” Rose tells him.

“Oh! Is this the Jack you were telling me about?” Martha asks as she finally pieces together the several strings of memories of what little Rose had told her of her other travelling friend.

“You talked about me, Rosie? All nice things, I’m sure,” Jack teased, though Martha could tell he was touched at Rose telling others about him.

“Mostly how you always end up naked wherever we land,” Rose teased back, but that just made Jack more happy. “Anyways, finish your story.” She thumps her hand onto his chest to move them along.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten your little stint with the Time Agency, missy.” He waggles his finger at her playfully.

“It was when- hmofyght!” Martha had started to say, but Rose covers Martha’s mouth to stop her from blurting out them meeting another Doctor. Mostly to be a little mean to Martha, but also because that was getting close to a Doctor Secret. One she didn’t even know if Jack knew or not.

“A story for another time,” Rose says with a pointed look at Martha.

“Alright, so I bounced,” Jack interrupts Martha’s loud mumbles behind Rose's hand, glancing between the two, but not minding enough to _ not _ tell his story. “I thought, 21st century, the best place to find the Doctor, except that I got it a little wrong. Arrived in 1869, this thing burnt out, so it was useless.” He waved the arm that held his broken Vortex Manipulator.

“1869? Me an’ the Doctor were around at that time. ‘Course, we were in Cardiff almost getting killed by dead people.” Rose pulls her hand back when Martha licks it, making a disgusted face at her friend.

“You telling me I had to live through the entire 20th century waiting for a version of the Doc to appear all for nothing?”

“Well, I mean, we didn’t know you then, so it might’ve gotten a little paradox-y,” Rose says with a shrug, rubbing her hand on her jeans.

“But that makes you more than one hundred years old,” Martha cuts in, leaning in to study his face. She darts a look in Rose’s direction, but is happy when she’s allowed to talk finally.

“And looking good, don’t you think?” Jack asks with a quick grin. Rose snorts at his antics. “So, I went to the time rift, based myself there because I knew the Doc would have to come back to refuel. Until I finally got a signal on this detecting what I thought was the Doctor and here we are.” Jack points to his backpack that Rose hadn’t seen at first. She wonders what device detected the Doctor, and if it was like with the Family thinking that she was a Time Lord.

“But, why would you and the Doctor leave him behind?” Martha asks getting to a point that Rose didn’t want to talk about.

“I- He always told me that Jack wanted to stay behind, to rebuild the Earth. I dunno, I thought it was odd, but he had just changed and there was an alien invasion and afterwards I- I guess I forgot to question him more about it. I’m sorry, Jack.” Rose grabs his hand, apologizing for more than just leaving him behind.

“But, I mean, is that what happens? Do you just get bored of us one day and disappear?” Martha asks and Rose swallows thickly as she remembers Sarah Jane.

“I would never, Martha. You’re my friend and I wouldn’t just abandon you.”

“You did to him.”

“Nah, I’m more mad at the Doctor than Rosie,” Jack interjects, draping his body over Rose’s, arm going around her shoulder. “I mean, maybe he thought I was dead and didn’t want to upset you.” Rose is grateful for his support but it also feels like a dead weight is dragging down her insides. It was her fault the Doctor left him behind, just as it was her fault the Doctor changed in the first place.

They come to the edge of a cliff that looks out over a city made out of rock.

“Is that a city?” Martha asks, trying to change the subject to something a little less sad.

“It looks like it,” Rose says as she stares at it in awe. “It must’ve been a sight to see a long time ago.”

“What killed it?” Martha asks her, wondering how the city must’ve looked in its prime.

“My guess?” Rose asks with a shrug of her shoulders. “Time. I said we were at the end of the Universe. Everything’s dying now, even the stars.” They all look up at the sky. “I don’t think this is just night, I think all the stars have died.” She shivers at that line, a niggling in the back of her mind, as if she’s said it before, or a version of her has said it before.

“They must have an atmospheric shell,” Jack observes. “We should be frozen to death.”

“What about the people? Does no one survive?” Martha asks as she looks back at the crumbling city.

“I suppose we have to hope some do,” Rose replies.

“Well, he’s not doing too bad,” Jack says pointing to a man running through the city, a mob of screaming people behind him.

“Is it just me, or does that look like a hunting party?” Rose asks before running towards the man.

“Oh, I’ve missed this,” Jack pants out as they run down the cliff and over to where the man is making his way to them. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.” The man runs into Jack's arms, sweating and a wild, panicked look in his eyes.

“They’re coming! They’re coming!” the man shouts, looking over his shoulder to the crowd.

Jack pulls out a gun and aims it at the crowd, looks over his shoulder at Rose and Martha before firing it into the air above them. The noise of the gunshots being the crowd to a stop.

“What the hell are they?” Martha asks as she looks at their tattered clothes and tattooed faces and arms.

“There’s more of them,” the panicked man says. “We’ve got to keep going.”

“I’ve got a ship nearby, we can go there,” Rose says trying to calm the man down, but more of the crowd appear on the cliff where they had just come from. “Or, maybe not.”

  
“We’re close to the silo,” the man says. “If we get to the silo, then we’re safe.”

“Silo?” Rose asks looking over to Jack and Martha.

“Silo,” Jack agrees.

  
“Silo for me,” Martha says with a nod of her head which sends them all running for their lives after the man.


	2. Doctor What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack teases Rose, Martha is confused but goes along with it, and poor Professor Yana struggles to get his people to Utopia.

“It’s the Futurekind! Open the gate!” The man leading them shouts as they reach the silo a couple of minutes later. He’s waving his hands to gain their attention and Rose looks back to see how far ahead they were.

“Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth!  _ Show me your teeth! _ ” One of the guards inside the gate shouts back.

“Show him your teeth,” The man tells them as they come to a stop at the gate. They all bare their teeth, which Rose thinks is a little odd until she hears with the guards shout.

“Human! Let them in! Let them in!” Well, that would explain that whole  _ ‘Futurekind’ _ thing. They rush through the gate as it opens for them, the sounds of the crowd behind them growing in volume.

_ “Close! Close! Close!” _ One of the guards shouts and Rose looks over when she hears gunshots.

“Humans,” one of the ones in the front grunts out. “Humani. Make feast.” He grits his teeth and Rose can see that all of his teeth are pointed.

“Go back to where you came from,” the guard demands. “I said, go back.  _ Back! _ ” He waves his gun around to scare them, but it doesn’t seem to have much effect on them.

“Kind watch you,” that same Futurekind man says. “Kind hungry.” And then they all back away from the gate still facing them, until they turn as one and run off into the distance.

“Right, let’s get you inside,” the guard says.

“My name is Padra Toc Shafe Cane,” the panicked man says to the guard. “Tell me, just tell me, can you take me to Utopia?”

  
“Oh, yes, sir. Yes. I can.”

\--

“Professor, we’ve got four new humans inside,” Atillo says over the overcomm. “One of them is calling themselves a doctor.”

“Of medicine?” The Professor asks.

“Didn’t say.”

“A scientist!” The Professor hopes a smile coming to his face as he jumps up off his chair. “Oh, my word. Just- just- Chantho, just er- Oh, I don’t know. I’m coming!” He hurriedly makes his way out the lab a small giggle escaping his lips.

\--

“I’m sorry, but my family were heading for the silo,” Padra says to the guard Atillo. “Did they get here? My mother is Kistane Shafe Cane. My brother’s name is Beltone.”

  
“The computers are down, but you can check the paperwork,” Atillo says. “Creet! Passenger needs help.” A young boy with a dirty face and a clipboard appears at Atillo’s side.

“Right,” the boy, Creet, says. “What do you need?”

“You said you were making a water collection?” Rose asks Atillo after Padra and Creet walk off down a hallway filled with people.

“Yes, ma’am,” Atillo says with a nod.

“Could you look for my ship while you’re out there? A big, blue, wooden box. Says Police on it.”

“We’re driving out for the last water collection, but I’ll see what I can do,” Atillo says before walking off towards a different hallway.

“Thank you!” Rose calls after him before following where Creet and Padra are.

“Sorry, but how old are you?” Martha asks Creet.

“Old enough to work. This way.” Creet leads them down another hallway filled with people.

\--

“Kistane Shafe Cane,” Creet calls out as they pass to a different hallway. “Kistane Shafe Cane. Kistane and Biltone Shafe Cane? We’re looking for a Kistane and Beltone Shafe Cane.”

  
“The Shafe Canes, anyone?” Padra asks the people on the floor, but most ignore him or shake their heads. “Kistane from Red Force Five? My name’s Padra.”

“Anyone? Kistane and Beltone Shafe Cane? Anyone know the Shafe Cane family? Anyone called Shafe Cane?” Creet asks.

“It’s like a refugee camp,” Martha whispers as she looks around at all the people.

“Like, Hooverville all over again,” Rose adds with a nod.

“Stinking,” Jack says a little too loudly, a man looking up in anger. “Oh, sorry, no offence. Not you.”

“Kistane Shafe Cane?” Rose asks a couple of women huddled together, but they all shake their heads.

“Is there a Kistane Shafe Cane?” Creet asks and a woman a couple of people down stands to her feet.

“That’s me,” she says, almost looking as if she’s going to receive bad news.

“Mother?” Padra asks and Kistane’s face lights up with a smile.

“Oh, my god. Padra!”

They hug and Rose and Martha smile at each other.

“It’s not all bad news.”

A young man stands up and Jack does a double take, just as a door catches Rose’s eye.

“Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?” Jack asks the man and Rose rolls her eyes.

“Jack, stop flirting, I need your help,” Rose says, calling him over. It takes them a minute, but soon enough, they’re opening the door, which Rose almost falls into.

  
“Just like old times, eh, Rosie?” Jack teases as he saves her from falling by holding her to him.

“If I remember correctly, it was the other way around, Jackie boy,” Rose teases right back.

“I’m open to that, too,” Jack laughs out.

“Now,  _ that _ is what I call a rocket,” Martha says as she looks up at the rocket through the doorway.

“Refugees fleeing to where though?” Rose asks as she stares at the rocket. It looked off to her, and not just because it was so far into the future.

“He said they were going to Utopia,” Martha says and that gets Rose thinking.

“You recognize those engines, Jack?” Rose asks knowing that he was an expert like the Doctor. She’s worked on the TARDIS engines (she  _ thinks _ those were engines), but the engines on this rocket weren’t like anything she’s ever seen in all of her travels.

“Nope,” Jack says, shaking his head. “Whatever it is, it’s not rocket science. But it’s hot, though.” They shut the door and Rose bites her lip as she thinks.

“But, if it’s the end of the Universe, what does Utopia mean?”

“The Doctor?” A voice behind them calls out and Rose perks her head up.

“What?” She looks over, but just sees an old man with a smile on his face as he takes hold of her hand. 

“Good! Good! Good. Good, good, good, good, good, good!” The man shouts as he drags her through the hallways.

She looks behind her to Jack and Martha, but they both just shrug and follow behind her and the enthusiastic old man.

\--

“Chan welcome tho,” a pretty, blue insectoid greets Rose as she’s dragged into a room behind the old man. He hadn’t stopped babbling the whole way here, but Rose could barely make any of his words out, regarding them as if he were the Doctor spouting his technobabble.

“Hello,” Rose says, though the old man drags her away from the pretty insectoid.

“Now, this is the gravitissimal accelerator,” the old man explains. “It’s past its best but it works.” Rose looks to see some cobbled together machine that she couldn’t even guess what it does or what all the buttons do.

“Chan welcome tho,” the pretty insectoid greets once more and Rose looks over to see Jack and Martha have arrived.

“And over here is the footprint impellor system,” the old man continues on. “Now, do you know anything about endtime gravity-?” But Rose has tuned him out as she wanders over the different machines placed randomly in the lab, if she can even call this a lab.

“Hello. Who are you?” Martha asks the insectoid.

“Chan Chantho tho,” Chantho replies and Rose guesses her species have to say their name like that to be polite or something like that.

“Captain Jack Harkness,” Jack says in introduction and Rose rolls her eyes at the flirting. “So, what have we got here?”

“This is for that rocket, yeah?” Rose asks, waving a hand around.

“Yeah, except without a stable footprint, you see, we’re unable to achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonise the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might make it yet. What do you think, Doctor? Any clues?” The old man asked, addressing Rose who balked.

“Oh, er, well,” she says as she looks around at the machines. “Not a clue, sorry.” She shrugs and looks over to Jack for help, but he also shrugs.

“Nothing?” the old man looks disappointed.

“Well, we’re not really from around here,” Rose tells him, feeling bad for deflating him. He was cute as he hopped around explaining things to her. “Sorry.”

“No, no, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. There’s been so little help.” He sinks into a chair and sighs.

“Look, what’s your name?” Rose asks him.

“Yana. Professor Yana, not that the title means much right now.”

“Oh, my god!” Martha shouts out, standing from her seat. “You’ve got a hand? A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag.” Rose walks over to see a familiar hand in a jar full of bubbles.

“I know that hand!” She says. “How’d you come to have this? That’s-” she waves her hand around as she tries to think of the words. “From the Sycorax at Christmas!”

“I told you I had a Doctor detector,” Jack says proudly.

“Chan is this a tradition amongst your people tho?” Chantho asks Martha.

“Not on my street!” Martha shakes her head as she takes this in. “I’m sorry, are you saying this hand is yours? And  _ you  _ just put this in a jar?” She points at Rose and then accuses Jack seconds later.

“No, well, I mean, it regrew,” Rose stumbles over her words, still taking in the Doctor’s hand being in a jar.

“What?!” Martha goes over and grabs Rose’s hands, but Rose doesn’t really know how to tell her that this happened to the Doctor, especially with others who didn’t know him around. Plus, she’s too stunned over the fact Jack found a hand, somehow connected it to the Doctor, and then decided to use it to find him.

“Might I ask, what species are you?” Professor Yana asks.

“Oh, erm, well, it’s a bit complicated.” She pulls her hands from Martha’s grasp and goes over to the Doctor’s hand. “Not much left of ‘em anymore.” She frowns as she looks at the hand float in the jar. “Last of the Time Lords, indeed,” she whispers to herself.

“Chan it is said that I am the last of my species, too tho,” Chantho says, facial pincers drooping slightly.

“And it’s Chantho?” Rose asks as she stands. The hand is just reminding her of the lack of the Doctor.

“Chan yes tho.”

“My assistant and good friend,” Professor Yana agrees. “She’s the last survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, you see. Malcassairo, before we took refuge.”

“There was a city outside that we saw. It was beautiful,” Rose tells Chantho.

“Chan thank you tho. Chan the conglomeration died out tho.”

“I’m sorry, Chantho. It’s not easy to see the destruction of your own planet.” Rose rubs Chantho’s arm in support.

“Chan it is not tho.”

“So, what about those things outside? The Beastie Boys. What are they?” Jack asks.

“We call them the Futurekind, which is a myth in itself, but it’s feared they are what we will become, unless we reach Utopia,” Professor Yana answers.

“And what’s Utopia?” Rose asks.

“Oh, every human knows of Utopia. Where have you been?”

“Er...Around. But I mean, what’s Utopia? If this is your refuge, what’s Utopia supposed to be?”

Professor Yana gets up and flicks a switch that shows them a mostly black screen with a pulsing dot in the left hand corner.

“The call came from across the stars, over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originating from that point.” He looks so hopeful staring at that faraway dot.

“Where is that?” She asks as she gets closer.

“Oh, it’s far beyond the Condensate Wilderness, out towards the Wildlands and the Dark Matter reefs, calling us in. The last of the humans scattered across the night.”

“What do you think it means? Utopia?”

“We can’t know. A colony, some sort of haven?” The Professor shakes his head. “The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind, to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now, perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it’s worth a look, don’t you think?”

“Oh, it’s always better to hope. Jack, come take a look at this.” Rose points to the dot on the screen. It looked a bit weird to her.

“Oh, the signal is modulating,” Jack says. “It’s not automatic, that’s a good sign that someone’s out there. And I think that’s a navigation matrix, so you could fly without the stars for a guide. Professor?” Jack looks at the man, but his eyes look a thousand miles away. “Professor.” Jack places a hand on his shoulder and the man seems to snap out of whatever daze he was in.

“I, er,” He clears his throat, “Right, that’s enough talk. There’s work to do. Now, if you could leave, thank you.” He stands and straightens his vest.

“You alright?” Rose asks, brows furrowed.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he snaps out. “And busy.”

“‘Cept that rocket’s not going to fly, is it? This footprint mechanism thing, it’s not working for you,” Rose points out. She’s a little surprised at his change in attitude, but she supposes he’s just frustrated at having yet another set back.

“We’ll find a way,” He tells her, though she can see his desperation.

“Hang on, you mean that rocket doesn’t work?” Martha asks. “But they all think you’re done. They’re all getting ready to board soon.”

“Because he hasn’t told them yet,” Rose guesses.

“Well, it’s better to let them live in hope,” Yana tells them.

“But it’s not nice to lie to them,” Martha tells him.

“Well, we’ll jus’ have to make sure it’s not a lie then, eh Jack?” Rose says, nudging Jack in the side.

“You- You mean you’ll help?” Yana asks, eyes so full of hope.

“Sure, I mean, I might not know much, but a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost, right?” Rose asks as she pulls out her sonic screwdriver. Luckily the Doctor had shown her a setting that was perfect for situations with reverse circuits. “If I just do this,” Rose trails off as she puts the tip to an exposed wire.

The machines come to life, all beeping with information.

“Chan it’s working tho!” Chantho exclaims, her pincers wiggling in excitement.

“But- But how did you do that?” Professor Yana splutters.

Rose shrugs. She could tell Jack was bursting full of questions as well, probably because when he travelled with her and the Doctor, she could barely work the handbrake.

“Oh, well, love me a boost reversal circuit,” Rose says, a little embarrassed despite feeling quite pleased with herself.

\--

_ “All passengers prepare for boarding. I repeat, all passengers prepare for immediate boarding. Destination, Utopia.” _

\--

_ “All troops report to silo. I repeat, all troops report to silo.” _

“Inside! Everyone, inside! Come on, move, move, move!”

\--

Martha helps the passengers board the rocket, trying to calm them down, but even she herself was feeling excited at having the rocket work. Jack had seemed surprised that Rose had managed to help the Professor which was a little odd, but it had been about a hundred years since they last saw each other. At least, Martha thinks so. Time travelling messed with your sense of linear time, which was funny.

“Excuse me,” Martha says as she spots the little boy who helped Padra find his mom. “Hey, your name was Creet, right?”

“That’s right, miss,” he says, not minding the people around him bumping into him.

“Who are you with, Creet? You got family?” She asks, noticing he’s not holding a hand nor is anyone waiting to board with him.

“No, miss. There’s just me.” He says it simply as if it wasn’t odd for a little boy to be alone.

“Well... Good luck. What do you think it’s going to be like in Utopia?”

“My mum used to say the skies are made of diamonds,” Creet says, eyes sparkling at the thought. Martha smiles sadly at him.

“Good for her. Go on, off you go. Get your seat,” she tells him, not wanting to hold him up any longer. She watches him disappear into the crowd and turns to go back to the room where Rose and Jack are looking over the Professor’s equipment.

“So, when you’d learn about boost reversal circuits, ‘Doc’?” Jack asks Rose, sarcasm heavily placed on the ‘Doc’.

“Knock it off you,” Rose tells him, used to his teasing ways.

“No, but seriously?” Rose looks back at Jack and sees his face and pauses in inspecting the Professor’s machines.

“Mighta read a book or two here and picked a few things up,” Rose says nonchalantly with a shrug. “Plus, need I remind you of Mickey’s constant shop talk. An’ don’t even get me started on you an’ himself blabbering on about the TARDIS.”

“What can I say, I catch a glimpse of Her nacelles and it’s dead sexy,” Jack says with a lascivious grin on his face.

“That’s Star Trek and you know it, Mr. Binged the whole series in one go!” Rose shouts back, laughing.

“Watch what you say next, Harkness,” Martha says as she walks over to join them. She wags a finger in his direction, but he just focuses his eyebrow wagging in her direction.

“All done with the passengers, Martha?” Rose asks as she pokes at a wire.

“Yep, they’re all ready and waiting for lift off,” Martha reports. “Er, R- Doctor?” Martha asks as she watches Rose sniffs at the wires she was just poking at.

“Is this?” Rose asks as she runs a finger down the wires.

“Yes, gluten extract,” Professor Yana replies quite excitedly. “Binds the neutralino map together.”

“Proteins 9 and 14, yes? You’ve built this system out of food and string and staples? Professor Yana, you’re a genius!” Rose gushes, grabbing the old man by the hands.

“Yes, well, says the lady who made it work,” the Professor stutters out, a little red in the cheeks.

“Oh, it’s easy to come in at the end of things, but you- You’re the one who started this with nothing but scraps and a dream! How amazing!”

“Well, even my title is an affectation. There hasn’t been such a thing as a university for over a thousand years. I’ve spent my life going from one refugee ship to another.” the Professor says, cheeks even redder with Rose’s praise.

“Oh, come off it! Look at what you achieved without those schools! If you had lived in the times where they were around, why, your name would’ve been known throughout the galaxies,” Rose tells him, elbowing him in the side. She winks at Martha. “Jus’ need a bit self-confidence is all.”

“Oh, those damned galaxies!” Professor Yana exclaims. “They had to go and collapse. Some admiration would have been nice, yes. Just a little, just once.” He straightens out his shoulders, standing a little taller, but he’s still a good inch shorter than Rose.

“Well, you’ve got it now,” Rose says, biting her lip to keep from laughing. “But that footprint engine thing, you know you can’t activate it onboard the rocket, yeah? Does that mean you’re staying behind?”

“With Chantho,” Professor Yana confirms. “She won’t leave without me. Simply refuses.”

“You’d give up your dream of Utopia so they could see it?” Martha asks.

“Oh, I’m a little too old for Utopia,” the Professor says, hands patting his stomach. “Time I had some sleep.”

_ “Professor, tell the Doctor we’ve found her blue box,” _ Atillo’s voice sounds on the radio.

“Ah! Speaking of my Girl,” Rose says, a big smile on her face. “You ready to see the new modifications I made on Her?” She asks Jack.

“No! You tricked her out?” Jack asks, practically bouncing where he’s stood.

“Oh, just you wait an’ see! Professor, if I may, I believe I’ve a way for you to see Utopia afterall.” Rose grins as the TARDIS pops up on the screen.

“Oh! Never thought I’d be so happy to see that blue!” Martha shouts. “I’ll go help them bring it here!” She runs off without waiting for a reply. Finally a chance for that vacation Rose was always promising when they were stuck in 1913!


	3. Ominous Drum Sounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Professor hears Jumanji calling out to him, Rose is crying more than she thought she would today, and Jack is finally getting the answers (and more) that he deserves for a start

“Oh, have I missed Her,” Jack says as he helps lower the TARDIS to the floor in Professor Yana’s lab.

“Watch those hands, mister!” Rose teases him, tongue touched grin on her face.

“I’m just greeting her, Doc,” Jack teases back. It still felt a little weird to be saying that again, even if it was to the wrong person, but Jack had liked the way Rosie got all pouty when he teased her by calling her that.

“Chan Professor, are you alright tho?” Chantho asks. Rose looks over to see Professor Yana pale and sweaty staring at the TARDIS.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he tells Chantho. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Just get on with it.” Despite his protests he lets Chantho lead him to his chair.

“Jack, you got the retro feeds?” Rose asks, coming back to the task at hand. The TARDIS had a pile of cables greeting her when she opened the door and she figured She could spare a bit of power to lend to the rocket.

“On it! Martha, connect those circuits into the spar, same as that last lot, but quicker,” Jack says, pointing out where Martha should go.

“Ooo, yes, sir!” Martha mock salutes.

“You don’t have to keep working, Professor,” Rose tells him as he goes to stand back up. “We’ve got it, don’t you worry.”

“It’s just a headache,” he waves off. “It’s just- just noise inside my head, Doctor. Constant noise inside my head.” He pulls out his hanky and uses it to wipe at his forehead.

“What sort of noise?”

“It’s the sound of drums. More and more, as though it’s getting closer,” he confesses, a far off look in his eye.

“When did it start?”

“Oh, I’ve had it all my life. Every waking hour.” His eyes suddenly shift back into focus and he gives her a weak smile. “Still, no rest for the wicked.” He gets up and goes to check on another machine close to the TARDIS.

Rose lets him do his checks, going instead, over to where Martha and Chantho are.

“How long have you been with the Professor?” Martha asks as they work.

“Chan seventeen years tho,” Chantho says, glancing back to where the Professor is.

“Blimey, tha’s a long time to work with someone,” Rose says as she kneels next to them.

“Chan I adore him tho,” Chantho whispers to them, her pincers wiggling.

“Oh right, and he-”

“Chan I don’t think he even notices tho,” Chantho interrupts Martha, antennae drooping slightly. The Malmoothians were a very expressive sort.

“Do you mind if I ask? Do you have to start every sentence with chan?” Martha asks, scooting a bit closer to Chantho.

“Chan yes tho.”

“And end every sentence with-”

“Chan tho tho,” Chantho completes. Rose and Martha giggle at her words.

“An’ what would happen if you didn’t?” Rose asks.

“Chan that would be rude tho!” Chantho sounds so scandalized.

“What, like swearing?” Martha asks.

“Chan indeed tho,” Chantho says with a head nod.

“Go on, just once,” Martha urges, bumping her elbows into both Rose and Chantho.

“Chan I can’t tho.”

“Oh, do it for us,” Martha says with a small head nod.

“No,” Chantho whispers. All three of them break out into giggles.

“Good on you,” Rose tells her. Chantho blushes green, hand covering her mouth as her facial pincers wiggle as she giggles.

_ “Professor, are you getting me?” _ Atillo’s voice calls out weakly over the radio.

“Yes, I’m here! We’re ready!” Professor Yana shouts, rushing to press the speaker button. “Now, all you need to do is connect the coupling, then we can launch,” Yana tries to explain but the screen goes black. “God sake! This equipment. Needs rebooting all the time.” He slams a fist on the desk.

“Anything I can do? I’ve just finished that lot?” Martha asks, coming over to where the Professor is sat.

“Yes, if you could. Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes.” He shows her the buttons and she presses it, Atillo’s face reappearing.

_ “Are you still there?” _

“Ah, present and correct. Send your man inside. We’ll keep the levels down from here,” the Professor tells Atillo, tapping a few commands into the computer next to Martha’s.

Rose goes over to the monitor to see a man in an old hazmat suit enter a steamy room.

_ “He’s inside. And good luck to him,” _ Atillo says.

“Captain, keep the dials below the red,” the Professor tells Jack.

“Er, Professor, where is that room?” Rose asks, pointing at the monitor.

“It’s underneath the rocket. Fix the couplings and the footprint can work, but the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation.”

“Stet?” Rose looks between Jack and Martha but they both shake their heads. Neither had heard of it either. “Never heard of stet radiation.”

“Hmm, you wouldn’t want to. But it’s safe enough, if we can hold the radiation back from here,” Professor Yana says distractedly as he watches the monitor.

“I’ll go see if I can be of any help,” Rose tells them, patting Jack on the back as she goes.

“It’s rising! Naught point two. Keep it level!” Yana’s voice rings out through the corridor. Rose starts her way to where the radiation room is, truthfully not really knowing what she could do to help, but perhaps there was a setting on the sonic that could help protect the man in there.

Suddenly an alarm rings out and Rose rushes to the room, just in time to see a woman run from a sparking panel on the wall near the radiation room.

“Wait!” She shouts, running to follow her.

_ “Radiation’s rising!” _

_ “We’ve lost control!” _

_ “The Chamber’s going to flood.” _

The voices of Martha, Jack, and the Professor sound from the busted radio by the radiation room’s door panel.

“Oi! Follow me!” Rose shouts to the guard by Atillo. “I’ve found her!” They rush around a corner and down a long hallway before rounding on the woman.

“Stop!” the guard shouts, raising his gun to shoot.

The woman turns to face them, sharp teeth bared at them.

“Futurekind,” the guard gasps. He pulls his gun up even further, firing when the woman charges at them. But the Futurekind woman dodges and runs down another hallway.

“I’ll go warn them,” Rose tells the guard who’s already racing after the woman.

“Jate! No!” Atillo screams as Rose runs up to him. She looks over to the window in the door just in time to see the hazmat suit fall to the floor as if dropped without a body inside of it.

“It was a Futurekind,” Rose pants out. “She messed with an electricity panel.”

“What? How’d they get in here?” Atillo asks.

_ “Ro-Doctor!” _ Martha’s voice calls out on the radio.

“I’m here!” Rose replies.

_ “It’s Jack! Chantho, help me!” _

“I’m coming!” Rose could feel the blood drain from her face. Who cares if Jack could come back to life, he would still feel pain, he would still experience each and every death. “Jack!” Rose shouts as she rounds into the room, Jack gasping for air and sitting up, nearly crashing into Martha’s face.

“Jack!” Martha exclaims as Rose bumps into her, knees smarting from hitting the floor as she hugs Jack.

“Was someone kissing me?” Jack asks, ever the one to try and lighten the mood.

“You scared the pants off of me!” Martha scolds, slapping his shoulder.

“Oh? I meant to seduce you first,” Jack responds cheekily.

“It’s not funny, Jack!” Rose sobs out. “What happened?”

“He got electrocuted trying to vent the room,” Martha says, wiping tears from her face.

“It was a Futurekind,” Rose explains. “She messed up the electrical box. Jate is dead.”

“Hey, Professor, you’ve got a room full of deadly radiation, right?” Jack pants out.

“No!” Rose digs her fingers into his shoulders. “You can’t!”

“Well, yes?” The Professor says confusedly through Rose’s protests.

“Well, I think I’ve got just the man for you.” Jack gives her a soft look. “I’ll be fine, Rosie,” he whispers to her. Rose can feel the tears track down her cheeks as she stares at her friend she just found again.

“If-” She takes a deep breath. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Jack reassures. He wipes her tears with his thumbs, hands cupping her cheeks. She nods, sniffling as they stand.

“What are you talking about?” Professor Yana asks.

“I can finish what Jate started,” Jack tells him.

“Are you mad? That room is filled to the brim with stet radiation! And we’ve got just the one suit already used!”

“He can do it, Professor,” Rose tells him with a sniffle. “I- I’ll help him, don’t worry.” She shakily helps him to his feet, wiping the tears from her face.

“You and me, like old times, eh, Doc?” Jack says to her with an overconfident grin. Rose just glares at him, how dare he try to play off his death like this!

“Let’s go before I change my mind,” Rose tells him and he drops his grin with a somber nod. She can feel Martha’s wondering gaze as they leave, but she’d rather not get into all that right now.

They run into Atillo in the hallway, still at the door and mourning his friend's death and she tells him to board the rocket.

“The chamber’s flooded?” He asks, looking between the two.

“We’ve a way of tripping the system,” Rose says with fake confidence. “Trust us, we’ve got this, go help the others in the rocket.” He leaves after a salute and Rose turns to see Jack stripping. “Y’know, I don’t think radiation affects clothing.”

“Well, I look good though,” Jack says with a stretched out grin. He focuses on pulling off his boots, so he isn’t facing her when he asks, “How long have you known?”

All the air in her lungs leaves her and she feels dizzy. A faint shiver runs up her spine. “The TARDIS showed me,” she tells him, whispering the words. “After the Battle of Canary Wharf.”

Jack drops his boots and struts into the chamber without looking at her. He hates her now, possibly had since he had woken up but it took this long for him to remember it. A tear rolls down her cheek.


	4. Say My Name, Say My Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all,,, my job decided to go back to regular hours (730 to 6) but still won't let us leave for lunch. It's with a heavy heart that I write that the next installment will most likely have to be delayed,,, i was so ready to have you guys read it, but I need to deal with having to be stuck in a room with 12 3 year olds for most of the day, I'm sure you understand. But also, fear not, I WILL be editing and fixing any mistakes I've made to the next part, and as soon as it's all finished I will post them!

Martha slaps the reboot key as hard as she can, desperately wishing to get eyes on both Rose and Jack.

“We lost picture when that thing flared up,” She tells the Professor. “R- Do- Are you there? Do you read me?” She didn’t really like calling Rose the Doctor, had only done it once but had felt like it was just a reminder of the person they had just left behind, the person she was still waiting for.

_ “I hear you, Martha, _ ” calls out Rose’s voice, though she sounds as if she’s underwater.  _ “Jack’s inside.” _

“And still alive?” She asks, wondering just what on earth those two had signed up for.

_ “Yeah, he’s alright, don’t worry.” _ As if she  _ wouldn’t _ worry about a friend of hers stuck in a room that wasn’t possible to survive in!

“But he should evaporate,” the Professor says with a furrow of his brows. “What sort of man is he?”

“Dunno,” Martha says with a frown. “She sort of travels through time and space and just picks people up wherever she goes. God, I make us sound like stray dogs.” She thinks this over and concedes. “Maybe we are.”

“She travels in time?” The Professor asks, a far away look in his eyes.

“Don’t ask me to explain it,” She tells him with a shrug. “That’s a TARDIS, that box thing. The sports car of time travel, she says.” She nudges her head towards where the TARDIS is sat in the corner of his lab. He slowly turns his head to look at the TARDIS, but it’s like his eyes don’t really see, they’re glazed over and a little feverish looking. Martha wonders if he’s really alright, but then the audio comes on and she hears both Rose and Jack discussing and soon forgets all about the poor old professor.

_ “Can you tell me,” _ Rose asks hesitatingly.  _ “When you- how you realized?” _ Martha doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

_ “Earth, 1892. Got in a fight in Ellis Island,”  _ Jack answers in clipped sentences. He sounds mad and Martha wonders what happened between the two in such a short amount of time. _ “A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kind of strange, but then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War One, World War Two, starvation, a stray javelin. In the end, I got the message. I’m the man who can never die. And all that time _ you knew.” He spit the last two words at her as if to curse her and Martha can hear some distorted sniffling through the speaker.

_ “Jack-” _ Rose starts, but is cut off.

_ “You know, last thing I remember, back when I was mortal, I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination. And then I came back to life and heard the two of you leaving without me. So, what happened?” _ Jack sounds so bitter and Martha can’t really blame him for that. 100 years on your own knowing your two friends left you alone, knowing that he couldn’t die, but not helping to see him through it, she’d be more than bitter, too.

_ “Bad Wolf,” _ Rose whispers over the comms and Martha gasps.  _ “He- The TARDIS was sent away, but had figured out a way back an’- You know how Margeret busted the TARDIS console open? How the heart of the TARDIS was exposed? Well, I- That’s what happened here.” _

_ “What does that mean, exactly?” _

_ “No one’s ever meant to have that power, Jack. If a Time Lord did that, they’d- there’s no telling what they’d do. The Bad Wolf brought you back to life, but she couldn’t control it, all that power coursing through her. She brought you back forever. It was an accident, Jack. I’m so sorry! It was an accident!” _

There was a break of static before Martha hears a bitter chuckle.

_ “Well, that’s something I suppose,” _ Jack says.  _ “That final act of the Time War not being death but life.” _

_ “You- You aren’t- I mean- Do you-?” _

_ “Not your fault, Doc,” _ Jack says and Martha can tell they’re both crying by this point.  _ “But.... do you think she could change me back?” _ His voice cracks on that last word.

_ “She’s gone, Jack. All that power was lethal. It almost killed her,” _ Rose says with finality.  _ “It instead killed- well- let’s just say our friend Spock won’t look the same way you remember him.” _

_ “Oh, Rosie,” _ Jack says, finally breaking from calling her Doctor. 

_ “I’m okay, Jack. Promise.” _

_ “I went back to the estate, in the nineties, just once or twice. Watched my sister growing up. Never said hello, timeline and all that,” _ Jack says casually but Martha is lost. What did this have to do with anything? 

Rose is quiet for a minute, probably watching him work.  _ “Do you want to die? _ ” She whispers, barely heard by the comms.

_ “Oh, this one’s a little stuck,”  _ Jack ignores.

_ “Jack.”  _ Her voice is firm and Martha can just picture her glaring at him, worry in her unwavering eyes.

_ “I- I thought I did. I don’t know. But this lot,” _ Jack pauses to chuckle. _ “You see them out here surviving, and that’s fantastic!” _ They both laugh at this, probably an inside joke from when they travelled together.

_ “You might be out there, somewhere,”  _ Rose says.

_ “I could go meet myself,” _ Jack muses.

_ “Well, he’s the only man you’re ever going to be happy with,” _ Rose teases.

_ “Cheeky,”  _ Jack teases right back and Martha knows they’re going to be okay again.  _ “So, regeneration’s real, huh?” _

_ “I have proof if you don’t believe me.” _

_ “Pictures?” _

Rose scoffs.  _ “If you’re a good boy.” _

_ “Yes, ma’am!” _

Martha shakes her head. “I never understand half the things she says.” She turns from the speaker to see the Professor sweating and panting. “What’s wrong?”

“Chan Professor, what is it tho?” Chantho asks, looking worried.

“Time travel,” he says as if in a trance. “They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed. But what would I know? Stupid old man. Never could keep time. Always late, always lost. Even this thing never worked.” He turns over the pocket watch in his hands and Martha has to hold back her gasp as she spots the alien language Rose had been translating in 1913. This could be another lost Time Lord watch like she gave to Timmy!

“Can I have a look at that?” She asks, wondering if instead this is the one given to Timmy.

“Oh, it’s only an old relic, like me.” He waves her away.

“Where did you get it?”

“Hmmm? I was found with it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was an orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned, with only this.”

“Have you tried opening it?” She asks, wanting to know if there were more of the alien inscriptions inside, like the one Timmy had. If so, this could be a long long off relative of his.

“Why would I? It’s broken.”

“How do you know it’s broken if you’ve never opened it?”

“It’s stuck,” He tells her with a shake of his head. “It’s old. It’s not meant to be. I don’t know.” Martha runs her fingers over the concentric circles and frowns. How to get him to open it? “Does it matter?”

“No,” she says shaking her head. She supposes having it survive all this time till the end of the Universe was it’s only feat. “It’s nothing. It’s- Listen, everything’s fine here, yeah? I’m going to see if my friends need me.” She had to tell Rose, she didn’t really know why she felt like this, but perhaps because it was exciting to have met a far off relative of Timmy’s?

“Countdown commencing. T minus ninety nine, ninety eight...,” The computerized voice echoes through the corridors as she reaches Rose and Jack, who was putting on his trousers?

“Nearly done, all that’s left is the gravity pulse of the footprint. Stamp it down and the rocket shoots up past the atmosphere!” Rose has a grin on her face despite the faint lines of tear streaks on her cheeks.

“Rose! It’s the Professor! He’s got this watch- the fob watch like the one you gave to Timmy! I think maybe he could be a relative!” Rose’s head whips in her direction, panic in her eyes that catches Martha off guard.

“What?”

“I asked him, he said he’s had it his whole life!”

“Who’s Timmy?” Jack asks as he tucks in his button up shirt.

“Someone who helped us out when we were stuck,” Rose says absentmindedly. “Are you sure it was the same watch?”

“Pretty sure, with how much of it I saw.” Martha shrugs. “Why?”

“It’s- Time Lords used them to trap their minds in there, I read about it as part of the TARDIS manual. Sometimes they can become different species and the watch helps to keep their Time Lord essence in it, but sometimes- sometimes they use it to banish Time Lords who broke sacred laws. It was a form of imprisonment.” Rose bites at her lip. “But- I mean, it could just be a watch. The Time Lords all died, the Doctor told me so.”

“Not if he was human,” Jack points out and they all look at each other.

“What did he say, Martha? About the watch?”

“He looked at it as if he could hardly see it. Kept saying it was broken despite not having opened it to try.”

“What about now? Can he see it now?”

\--

_ “The drums, the drums, the drums, the never ending drumbeat. Open me, you human fool. Open the light and summon me and receive my majesty! Destroy him! And you will give your power to me!” _

\--

“If he escaped the Time War, then it’s the perfect place to hide,” Jack reasons. “The end of the Universe.”

“Think of what the Face of Boe said,” Martha reminds her. “His dying words. He said-”

But Rose tunes her out as she looks over the broken and cracked screen directing where the comms would lead to and sees the Professor’s name spelled out. She feels a tickle in the back of her mind as the Face of Boe’s words whisper in her ear, “You are not alone.”

“Atillo, have you done it? Are you in the stars?” Rose asks, breaking from her trance.

“Affirmative. We’ll see you in Utopia,” Atillo’s voice calls out and she has the gut sinking feeling that he is very very wrong.

“Good luck,” she tells him anyways. She turns to Jack and Martha. “Let’s hope we’re wrong.” But just as she says this the alarm sounds and they all race to the Professor’s lab, only to have the door locked.

A wave of Futurekind stops them in their tracks, all snarling and out for blood. They backtrack and sneak their way around the base, trying not to run into any more of them.

“This way!” Jack calls out, leading them to the Professor’s lab.

“Professor! Professor, let us in! Let us in! Jack, try and get us in?” Rose asks. “Professor! Professor, where are you? Professor! Professor, are you there? Please, I need to explain. Whatever you do, don’t open that watch!” She slams on the door but it’s no good, the Professor doesn’t respond.

“They’re coming!” Martha shouts, crowding close to Rose.

“Open the door, please! I’m begging you, Professor! Please, listen and let us in!” Rose feels frantic, can practically taste the static charging in the air, something is coming and she knows she won’t like it.

Jack manages to get the door open, but it’s too late. The Professor is already in her TARDIS and has locked them out.

“Let me in!” Rose shouts at the TARDIS door.

“She’s dead,” Martha sobs out at Chantho’s side. Rose stops at this and glances at Chantho, brave to her very last breath.

“I broke the lock,” Jack reminds them, struggling to hold the door closed, but Rose pays that no mind. “Give me a hand!” Martha goes over to help, but Rose tries banging against the doors again, even if it hadn’t worked the first time.

“I’m begging you, please!” Rose cries out uselessly. “It’s all changed, everything’s changed!”

“Killed by an insect. A  _ girl _ ,” Yana pants out with disgust. “How inappropriate. Still, if the Doctor can be young and strong, then so can I. Of course, without transforming into a girl.”

_ “Oi! _ ” All three of them shout, Martha slipping slightly in her hold on the door.

“What’ve you got to be offended about, Jack?” Martha asks re-adjusting her grip.

“Excuse you!” Jack tells her. “I’m half girl, y’know. Plus, my mother was a woman.”

“We’re going to be left stranded at the end of the Universe,” Rose chastises them. “Priorities!”

Laughter could be heard from the console room. “Now then, Doctor. Ooh, new voice. Hello, hello.” A clearing of his throat. “Anyway, why don’t we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me, I don’t think.”

“Hold on, I know that voice,” Martha says to herself.

“I’m asking you to stop this, please!” Rose begs.

“Use my name,” Professor Yana demands and Rose scrambles her brains to think of something, anything to say, when a faint whisper of the TARDIS caresses her mind. It gives her not only a name, but a memory as well.

“Master,” Rose says resignedly. If this was truly who she thought it was, there was no reasoning with him. “I’m sorry.” She says it more to Martha and Jack, but the Master scoffs at it.

“Tough!” He shouts at her.

“Can’t hold it for long, Rosie!” Jack warns her and she quickly pulls out her sonic to try and lock the controls of the TARDIS, something she’s recently tried to work out herself to very little success, but she’d rather try.

“Oh no you don’t!” The Master shouts. “End of the Universe. Have fun! Bye, bye!” And with that the TARDIS fades from view. The last home Rose had in the world- in the whole Universe- gone in the hands of a madman.

“Rose, stop him! They’re getting in!”


End file.
